New agency offers funding, facilities for social enterprises
From left to right: Ms Penny Low, Member of Parliament; Mr Fong Yong Kian, Chief Executive, Tote Board; Mr Chan Heng Kee, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Social and Family Development; Mr Gautam Banerjee, Chairman, raiSE; President Tony Tan Keng Yam; Mr Alfie Othman, Executive Director, raiSE; Mr Hsieh Fu Hua, President, National Council of Social Service; Mr Seah Kian Peng, Deputy Speaker of Parliament. Photo: raiSE
SINGAPORE – To complement an expanding social enterprise sector here, an independent one-stop agency will give social enterprises a leg up through funding, and offering them facilities and services.
The Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise (raiSE) was launched today (May 27) by President Tony Tan Keng Yam during a ceremony held at the JTC Launchpad @ one-north.
raiSE will distribute S$30 million worth of grants and investments over five years to boost social enterprises.
Businesses which want to apply for funding do not need to be a raiSE member, but are required to go through a financial assessment, put forward a “compelling” social objective and prove the sustainability of their business models.
The amount awarded varies, depending on the maturity of the social enterprise.
Funding comes from the Tote Board and the Ministry of Social and Family Development. The new scheme will also take over the existing ComCare Enterprise fund, which funded new and existing social enterprises.
Speaking at the launch ceremony, raiSE chairman Gautam Banerjee said: “Funding will also go beyond startups and post-startups, to support proof-of-concept.”
President Tan welcomed the additional assistance for social enterprises.
“Many social enterprises continue to face challenges such as talent, business know-how and funding,” he said.
As a joint initiative between several organisations, raiSE combines information and services which social enterprises can tap on.
For example, the National Council of Social Service can provide information on emerging social needs, while the Social Enterprise Association can advise social enterprises on how to be more sustainable.
raiSE will also support social enterprises by offering mentoring and accelerator programmes. These will be provided by its corporate partners, some of which specialise in financial services or the legal industry.
On top of that, an incubation hub at Republic Plaza will act as a resource centre for social enterprises, while a shared office space at Holland Drive can provide IT-supported working areas for four businesses.
For established social enterprises looking abroad, raiSE hopes to partner like-minded organisations in a number of South-east Asian countries to facilitate the expansion. On this, it is working towards a memorandum of understanding by the end of July.
To increase awareness on social entrepreneurship, raiSE will hold conferences with sponsors, non-profit organisations and policymakers to share knowledge and learn about the value of social enterprises.
Social enterprise owners TODAY spoke to were pleased with raiSE’s efforts.
Bliss Restaurant and Catering founder Christine Low said: “Previously, (funding and services for social enterprises) is a bit fragmented ... so having to go to a one-stop centre does wonders.”
Praising raiSE’s multi-pronged approach, Ms Low added that social enterprises have different needs, depending on how established they are.
For example, she requires technical proficiency courses for her employees -- who include senior citizens, the hearing-impaired and former offenders — rather than help with funding.
Mr Peter Yang, founder of Empact, which helps social enterprises with services such as bookkeeping and marketing, said raiSE will be the “matchmaking” agency for social enterprises to collaborate with major corporations.
“They see that partnering together either gives them business value, or it could be a ‘do good’ kind of thing that they have,” he said.
